Boba Fett: Prism
by Nate Aledor
Summary: A fic for the Boba Fett fans. Fett is sent to retrieve a mysterious artifact and along the way encounters a future rival. Feel free to review, but please no flames. Complete!
1. Prologue

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Prism

Prologue:

The air was thick and moist, humidity clinging to the lone man's bruised body as he made his way through the jungle in the shear darkness of night, cleaving away the underbrush that stood in his path.

He could see clearly enough, the world around him illuminated in vivid greens through his macro-binocular viewplate and he scanned his surroundings with the careful precision that a medical droid may have with a laser-scalpel, before continuing into the dense growth, teaming with non sentient life. 

Something like a Minok had taken off suddenly from its dark perch and the hunter froze, placing the vibroblade in its sheath on his hip and unslinging the blaster rifle from his shoulder. Slowly he crouched down, moving stealthily into the surrounding vegetation, his olive armor providing camouflage. For mere seconds he waited.

He had learned the hard way once, that patience was a virtue for a hunter – and that lesson had nearly forced him to miss his twentieth year. But that had been two years ago, and Boba Fett was not going to make the same mistake twice.

A sudden snap of a wet branch drew his attention to the left and the heat scanner in his helmet zeroed in on his prey, crosshairs illuminating his quarry's position as if in a field in broad daylight.

The hunter slowly raised his weapon, watching as his prey looked around in fear and aimed carefully for the man's exposed face. 

He didn't appear threatening, but the ordeal alone that Boba Fett had endured betrayed the notion of the man's innocence. He had set traps for his escape, and few had nearly taken the hunter down, if not for the Mandalorian armor he wore, though it still left its toll. 

Besides… Boba Fett was hired to kill him for his injustices, not ponder the man's motive.

With his aim set, the hunter fired.

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--That said, I own no rights in any way, unless they are characters of my own design, in which case I don't own the rights to the species they probably spawned from. For that I credit the true geniuses. George Lucas… thanks for your galaxy far far away.

More soon!!!

I left this chapter short to wet your appetites. Please no flames! But please review!


	2. Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

Rain began to fall, running in thin streams across the bounty hunter's armor and joining with the growing river that formed around his ankles. 

He had left the body behind, to be taken by some scavenger in the jungle and took only a small medallion to bring back with him for proof of his quarry's execution. His employer had requested the artifact specifically and as Boba Fett glanced at the coppery object, he wondered of its strange significance.

With a shrug he placed the medallion into a pouch on his belt and forced the thought from his mind. He needed to focus on reaching his ship, before the gathering storm could become too fierce for him to take off, trapping him on this muggy planet in the outer rim.

Degobah, as he was told was the planet's name, was rumored to be uninhabitable, due mostly to its surface being largely swamp-like, overrun with wild vegetation and lurking dangers from both above ground, and below the marshes.

A shiver ran up his spine as a gurgled howl pierced through the drumming of rain drops on his helmet and he looked around, scanning his surroundings, searching for the marker he had left on a low hanging branch. With a slight grin he spotted the brown fabric, now wet with rain and moved toward it, stopping only to retrieve it and fasten it once again over his shoulder.

The hunter made his way along and came at last to the ship he had followed here, now half submerged in the landscape. Degobah itself seemed to swallow the ship up, intent on burying any evidence that any sentient had set foot on its surface.

With a sudden realization, the hunter stood for a moment, staring at the derelict. _He never intended to leave this mud hole, alive._

Fett watched the ground carefully, keeping his distance from the ship's hull to avoid joining it and found his way up onto a rocky outcropping. With slight relief he had removed himself from the river that had formed and he continued along.

Without the water to impede his progress, he soon found himself back at his landing spot and quickly made his way up the Slave I's boarding ramp.

With a string of voice-activated commands, the ship powered up and fought against the elements to slowly rise, breaking free of the harsh world and making its way back to the empty void of space. Back to where he had grown up, back to where he felt most comfortable.

Boba Fett removed the muddy armor and stowed it in a storage locker, placing the ominous helmet on the top shelf, the T-shaped visor looking back at him. For a brief moment he envisioned it as his father, but the memory faded not of his own volition, but that of time and the man turned away, almost ashamed.

Almost… the galaxy had stripped most of his soul away and any that had lived to say they had seen the bounty hunter swore him to be a droid. 

With the coldness of an ice planet he strode to the ladder leading to the cockpit and climbed, slinking into the pilot's chair with a groan. The starry expanse stared back at him and Boba Fett smiled.

His fingers moved gracefully over the control panel and he plotted his jump for hyperspace, in order to return to his employer to collect his fee.

As the stars streaked into lightspeed, Fett removed the metal object from the pouch on his belt… the medallion -- and peered closely at the mysterious artifact.

It seemed almost to be translucent, though had the texture of durasteel, smooth and heavy. Carved on its oval face was the semblance of a moon or an eye and as light passed through it, cast luminous patterns over the cockpit. 

The hunter held it for a moment, lost in the abstract beauty of the object and finally placed it in a small holding case, pondering as to what it could be.

He shrugged the thought away, warding off that particular demon. He wasn't being paid for philosophy, but rather to steal the medallion and bring it to his employer.

Questions only got people killed.


	3. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

The Slave I powered through the atmosphere of the desolate and rocky planetoid, making way for one of the packed clusters of civilization on the marred surface of Skaan. It was a way-point for many of the universe's pirates and degenerates, still outside of the Empire's growing stranglehold and Boba Fett was not an infrequent traveler to this hive of depravity as so many others would pray to be.

It was one of his contact points, where he would often meet with those who wanted his services, away from the Emperor's insidious network of spies. This time, however the bounty hunter had other plans.

The Slave I touched down in a private docking bay, after a quick exchange with a security droid and Fett made his way to the hatch, stopping to adorn himself in the visage that the galaxy had been growing to identify him as. The battered, olive-green armor and its cold expressionless helmet, with its T-shaped visor the image that had become his exterior.

He slipped his blaster into the holster on his hip and snagged a rifle from his weapon's locker, before whispering the command into his comlink to open the hatch. Hot, dusty air blew in as Boba Fett stepped out, descending to the landing pad where a female Twi'lek stood with her armed escort. 

She wore a dark robe, decorated with oddly shaped pieces of beige fabric her lekku hanging down over her chest. Her pale complexion contrasted heavily to her attire and her muscular physique was not easily hidden.

The armored man strode over to where she stood and stopped, his rifle held flush to his chest. 

"Welcome back, hunter Fett," the woman said, her accent thick as she spoke in basic, "what do we owe the pleasure?" She paused, looking him over. "Or the business?"

Boba Fett strode past her and she turned to follow him, matching his pace. The hunter's raspy voice echoed through the helmet. "My stay here will be short, Inah." He said quickly, "And my ship's defenses have been armed, so keep your goons away from it."

The Twi'lek woman smiled, slowing to allow her bodyguards to once again flank her. "Of course. My hospitality I give you."

After passing through a set of rusted doors, He emerged into the spaceport of Tal Koona, alive with the bustle of a motley assortment of different species.

Carefully he stepped over the drunken form of a Rodian, propped up against a wall and unconscious, his sleeping form already looted for valuables.

The sun hung in the sky, obstructed only by the frequent awnings that shaded the crowded street as Fett methodically made his way to a shop at the end of the row. The smell of decay lingered over the populace, mixing with the after-scent of blaster fire and after a few feet, the hunter spotted the corpse, lying in an alley and baking in the sun.

Small scavengers scurried around, picking chunks of rotting meat from the carcass before scampering away down the alley to enjoy their spoils.

Beneath his helmet he scowled, turning to open the shop's door and step into the cool interior.

Inside it was decorated with various artifacts, carefully hidden amongst a clutter of fake antiques and random bits of used machinery. Fett slowly navigated his way to the counter as an aging man stepped out from a back room; his clothes caked with grease.

The man paused in his stride, observing the armor-clad other and exhaled slowly. "Oh. It's you." His voice shook slightly as he spoke, never taking his eyes off Fett. "What can I do for ya?"

The hunter slowly reached into the pouch on his belt and removed the ovoid, placing it on the counter in front of the shopkeeper. "Can you tell me what this is?"

The man shrugged. "A piece of cheap art. Nothing more."

Credit chips were dropped on the counter alongside the medallion and the shopkeeper merely glared at them. The hunter leaned closer, resting the muzzle of his rifle on the counter with a thud, looking into the other's eyes.

"Look harder."

The shopkeeper swallowed hard and nodded.


	4. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

Dyunk Mortuff had worked in the antique's trade for a long time, much longer than most would realize. His uncountable inquiries had given him a sense of undisputed knowledge in ancient artifacts, both genuine and false… and Boba Fett knew that.

The treasure he now faced, investigating at the hunter's mercy, was definitely more than a mere trinket. The shopkeeper slowly brought a penlight up, shining it into the medallion's iris and a fantastic display of hieroglyphics bathed the somber shop's walls. 

"My god," the man said, looking over the multidimensional display. "This is some sort of instruction manual… or set of directions… certainly more than a common forgery."

Boba Fett cocked his head slightly, looking at the other man. "What does it say?"

Mortuff shrugged. "I haven't a clue."

The hunter's rifle rose to meet the shopkeeper's face. Mortuff groaned. "There may be someone who can decipher the symbols… Nel Mysta. She has a knack for language."

Without a pause, Dyunk Mortuff turned to the doorway, leading into the backroom and called out in a language that Fett did not understand. A slender girl appeared a moment later, wearing a greasy jumpsuit that covered her blue skin. She had long blonde hair, bound in tight braids and her hairline was rimmed with shimmering purple feathers that matched her sparkling eyes.

She looked over the man in the Mandalorian armor and turned back to Mortuff. "What is it, uncle?"

He motioned to the projection and nodded, wanting her to interpret what she bared witness to. 

Nel looked around casually and turned to Boba Fett, looking into the dark visor and hiding the fear she felt. "It's a map," she said, looking back, around the room. "With specific coordinates about the whereabouts of a planet that holds unspeakable power."

The bounty hunter turned to the girl, but before he could state his request, the door behind him burst inward, a Trandoshan standing in the flowing dust and leveling a blaster rifle at him. "Fett!" His voice was rough, the word gargled through his reptilian vocal cords.

Mortuff wrapped his hands around the concussion grenade launcher under the counter and brought it up to face the intruding menace at the door. 

The Trandoshan acted quickly out of reflex and fired, hitting the shopkeeper square in the chest and sending him backwards in a spin. Nel screamed and Boba Fett spun toward the doorway and opened fire, sending the attacker running off around the corner.

"Who was that?" Nel asked, "he killed him!" 

Fett snatched the medallion from the counter and moved for the exit, stopping briefly to look back at the girl. "Bossk, a lowly Wookie hunter."

Nel shuddered, looking at the unmoving form on the floor beside her. Slowly she stepped out from behind the counter and turned to the scorched entrance to the shop. "What did he want?"

"I've had dealings with his family many times."

Nel nodded, as if understanding, though in reality she did not. "What kind of dealings?"

The hunter grew tired of the questions but felt compelled to answer none the less. "His father is a fool and over the years I've proven it… many times."

Boba Fett sauntered out into the street and the girl ran after him. "Where are you going?"

The hunter paused and flashed a glance back at her. "I have a job to do."

Nel pointed to his belt with a scowl. "You mean that? That thing's dangerous!"

Fett shook his head, a motion barely visible to the naked eye. "It isn't my concern."

The girl tensed, hearing the heavy impact of the hunter's words. "It should be! If anyone had the kind of power that medallion had described, everyone would all be Portha dung! Don't you care about living?"

Boba Fett rarely allowed emotion to cloud his judgment, but he lived by a single cardinal rule. You can't spend it if you're dead.

"I agreed to bring this to my employer. What do you suggest?"

Nel looked away briefly, meeting the hunter's gaze once more. "It's only a map… if we get there first… "

Fett nodded, understanding and the two of them made their way to the hunter's ship.


	5. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

Bossk sneered, watching Boba Fett leave the store with the woman. He growled under his breath and turned to the four other hunters that had joined him. "Did you find that rodent's ship?"

One of the other hunters stepped forward and nodded. "He is on a private landing pad not far from here." His voice was scratchy and he stroked the fine hair that lined his bat-like face. "We get him now?"

Bossk's eyes narrowed and his mouth contorted into the Trandoshan equivalent of a smile.

Boba Fett watched the crowds around him carefully, counting the blasters silently as he marched along, the girl in tow. "I've not seen your species before. Where are you from?"

Nel Mysta shrugged nervously. "I'm half Omwati. My father was a Corellian. They're both dead now. Everyone I ever knew is dead now."

Boba Fett glanced quickly at her then turned back ahead. He knew the feeling and some could think he took her with him out of a sense of sympathy, but the truth was he didn't much like the idea of someone having more power than the Emperor, who now controlled most of the galaxy.

"You are along only to translate the map. I don't much like the idea of being out of a job." Boba Fett glanced back at Nel briefly. "After that, I'll drop you off at the nearest spaceport."

The blue skinned girl quickened to catch up to the hunter. "Then what?"

The bounty hunter cocked his head, not bothering to look at her. "Then… you'll be on your own."

They neared the entranceway to the landing pad and Fett paused. Inside his helmet a message scrolled, alerting him of troubles inside. He turned to the girl. "My ship's external defenses have activated. Stay close to the wall."

Nel swallowed and Fett moved to the door. Using his helmet's linkup to the Slave I he patched into his ship's external cameras. A charred corpse lay at the foot of the boarding ramp, still smoking from where the blaster bolt had torn through it.

The Twi'lek slumped against the far wall, her bodyguards dead along side her_. The attack must have been swift_, the hunter regarded, scanning the scorch marks on the walls. Something caught his eye, placed between a pile of discarded engine parts and the wall. It was cylindrical and stood on three sturdy legs.

Boba Fett recognized it almost instantly. It was a thermal explosive device rigged with a counter. It was a common device in the Hunter's Guild, used for crippling the ships of their quarry.

He turned back to Nel. "A bomb has been set and it won't give us enough time to take off. Can you disarm it?"

Before the girl could answer, Fett hit the door release and stepped through, grabbing her by the wrist.

She carefully approached it and knelt beside it, removing the outer casing. Wires crisscrossed over each other and Nel shook her head. "I can't stop it. It has a failsafe."

Fett mouthed commands into his helmet and the ship started its pre-launch cycle. "You can't stop it… can you delay it?"

Nel nodded and reached into the pocket of her jumpsuit, removing a thin tool. Her analytical mind ticked as she worked the equation, rewiring the deadly explosive. The counter read less than a minute and she smiled, pulling out another tool. "There you are." 

With a twist of the spanner the clock jumped to ten minutes and she let out a giggle. "It's the best I can do, but it's something!"

Fett nodded his approval and motioned to the ship's hatch that now rested open. Nel stood and jogged over, her boots echoing as she ran up the boarding ramp. Boba Fett already sat in the cockpit and the Slave I began to rise, the repulsors in the wings forcing it upward. 

Bossk snarled, hearing the ship take off. He turned to his remaining hunters and roared. He leveled his custom blaster rifle and fired, hitting the bat-faced one in the chest and sending him toppling back. "The bomb should have taken his ship apart!"

He stepped out of his hiding spot in an adjoining chamber and made his way through the short corridor to the launch bay, his lackeys following close behind. "How could he disarm it!"

Bossk rounded the corner and spotted the bomb. His eyes narrowed as he read the counter, ticking down from five seconds. With a burst of speed he turned and shoved the other hunters aside, back to safety and out of the blast zone.

The explosion tore through the landing pad, a shock wave knocking the Trandoshan to the ground and sending a fireball into the sky. Black smoke billowed and Bossk stepped back out, soot sticking to his pale jumpsuit. He looked up at the object streaking away and roared once more. His voice was raw and the word came out in a gargle. "Fett!"


	6. Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

Nel winced, watching the holding cage's door close in front of her, the armored hunter on the other side. A look of disbelief crossed her slight face, betraying her naivete. "I thought we had a deal?"

Boba Fett barely moved, his cold expressionless helmet hiding any trace of emotion for the girl to exploit. Fett knew that and used it to his advantage. "Trust can get you killed. I won't have you running around my ship without a leash." Slowly he turned away from her and methodically made his way back to the ladder, hearing her soft pleas as he climbed back to the cockpit. Softly he slumped down into his chair and stared out over the expanse before vectoring his jump.

The Slave I had been in hyperspace for nearly an hour, the whole while its pilot running through the events previous. Fett didn't much like his passenger and the more he thought about it, the less he liked the idea. The girl had watched her uncle die and yet she shrugged the incident off with less than an afterthought.

The bounty hunter milled over the pieces of the puzzle and felt a slight feeling of unease. He was being manipulated. Such should have been obvious by Bossk's retreat from the junk shop, or by Inah's apparent involvement. Normally he would not have proceeded as he had done, but something else had come into the fray.

Boba Fett extracted the medallion from his pouch and looked it over, rolling the object in his gloved palms. If he were a foolish man, he would dump it into space with the girl and wipe his hands of the whole thing. The more he thought of it, the more he was certain the whole thing was a setup.

Nel crouched against a wall of her holding cell, her eyes shut. Her mind tried to wander, attempting to creep along the Slave I's deck and up to where Fett was perched. She shook her head in frustration, her concentration broken by an unseen force. "Can I come out?" Her voice echoed and surely the hunter heard her. She waited for an answer and finally sighed at the lack of response. She would have to wait. 

Coruscant shimmered in the night with unseen layers of neon, reflecting off the many mirrored surfaces of the upper levels. The lights blotted out the stars, but their replacement could only be seen as something magnificent.

A tall figure stood on the verandah of his apartment, draped in flowing fabrics from a dozen systems. He enjoyed the sights of this planet, though in his lavender eyes they paled in comparison to his homeworld. In the distance he could see the Imperial Senate building, the seat of Palpatine's thrown and a chill ran up his exposed spine.

With a wave of his hand he turned away, as if to erase it from the planet's surface and stepped back into the warm glow of his apartment. A woman stood inside, holding a data pad. "He's been spotted on Skaan," she said in an even tone. "As were members of the Hunter's guild."

The reply was short and relaxed, his robes rippling as he took a seat on the couch. "I am not interested in his interim movements, I need only be concerned if he is in possession of _it._"

The woman smiled lightly and handed the data pad to him, taking a step back with her arms loosely held behind her back. The light cascaded over the smooth, green skin of his face and his dark lips parted in an elegant smile.

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--Than you all for the reviews and thank you for your constructive critiques. I don't much mind it, as this is the first time I've written a story in the 3rd person. Consider it a test, as well as a justification of my liking for Boba Fett. 

-Ryko 'Nate1' Sill --- More to come, so keep checking here for updates!


	7. Chapter 6

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Chapter 6

Nel Mysta's dreams were less intense than she was used to and as she woke the dreams faded into the dim holding area of the Slave I. She felt groggy and off balance, disoriented by an unknown assailant. Her eyes focused in the darkness and she glimpsed a dark shape watching her. Slowly the shape moved closer and she began to make out the lines of his helmet. Carefully he leveled his blaster at her and with cold satisfaction he fired.

Her eyes snapped open. Her heart pounded and she scanned the hold's dark corners for him, anticipating his approach. With a sigh she relaxed. _Only a dream, _she thought, _only an accursed dream._

Boba Fett's boots tapped against the metal rungs of the ladder as he descended into the cargo hold. When he touched bottom he made his way to Nel's cage and peered at her through the bars. He noted her anxiety and nodded. "A force user."

Nel looked away quickly, brushing a few braids from her face. She swallowed hard, the dream suddenly coming back to her. She flinched as the hunter drew slightly closer, the same image from her vision.

Fett backed away and with his gruff voice taunted his 'guest'. "I'm not going to kill you. It would be a waste. I want answers."

For a few minutes she just looked at him, trying to steady her nerves. "How… how did you know?" 

"Your reaction to the cage… among other things." Boba Fett turned away slightly. "Your interest in the artifact is more than of concern." Slowly he cocked his head toward her, waiting for an answer. Nel swallowed. "I don't know what you mean."

Fett pulled the object from his belt and held it up for the girl, her eyes shifted to meet it and her brow tensed. The hunter cut in, drawing her attention away from it. "That look is not from fear. I've seen fear in a sentient's eyes. I've also seen the look of greed."

The Crimson Star stank of blood and sweat, intensified by the artificial humidity and the lack of ambient lighting. Bossk sat in the pilot's chair, watching the terminal's display for his cue and absentmindedly picking bits of rotting meat from between his fangs. Someone clambered into the cockpit of the small freighter and Bossk turned, seeing Milit as clear as in daylight, though he knew the hunter was lost in the dark.

The Trandoshan smiled, amused by his subordinate's predicament and quietly reached for the lighting pad to his right, brightening the dank room a few notches. 

Milit scowled, caught off guard. "Why keep it so dark?" He barked, regaining his footing on the deck plating.

Bossk stood, towering over the scruffy human. His breathing was heavy and he posed himself to appear more threatening, his claws held up. "It's my ship." Slowly he relaxed his posture, though his voice still held a hint of aggravation. "What is it? I'm busy!"

Milit rested his arm against the wall and looked the hulking lizard in the eyes. "We're all sick of just sitting here like Hutts. I'm tempted to contact the guild and tell Cradossk of your failure and move on to a more fruitful hunt."

Bossk lunged and lifted the human by his neck off the deck. Milit gulped for air and Bossk finally released him, watching as he struggled to catch his breath. "We were told to be here and wait for that nerf-herder."

The human nodded and crawled to his feet, suppressing a cough. "Let's just hope you're right, or I will be sending a transmission to the guild." Milit turned away and Bossk strode over to his console and lowered the lights once more, listening as the other hunter stumbled against a wall, his armor clattering.

The Trandoshan's blood was at a boil and he looked out the viewport over the floating debris field. His fist came down hard on the bulkhead and he swore, before taking a breath and slumping into his seat.


	8. Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

Boba Fett stared at the girl through the dark visor of his helmet. "You said this was a map. Leading to what?" He watched her closely, searching her features for anything that might give her away. She brushed her long, braided hair back with her fingers and rested her head against the bars behind her. "A Holocron."

Beneath his helmet he grinned lightly and knelt, still facing her. "A Jedi relic?" Nel tilted her head down, peering back at her captor. Her voice came out in a whisper but held a strong tone. "No, " she said flatly, "not a Jedi relic. A _Sith_ Holocron." 

Fett nodded slowly and stood, turning back to return to the cockpit but stopped at the base of the ladder. "We will be dropping back into normal space soon." His statement held a note of finality and he turned back to the metal rungs and started to climb out of sight.

Few Omwati ever became sensitive to the flowing Force, though many unconsciously used it in their normal lives. Nel Mysta learned early in her life that she held a gift stronger than most other's and tried desperately to feed that gift. She had heard stories as a child, about the Old Republic and about the legendary feats of the Jedi… and she had heard of the great Sith war.

Her parents feared her gift, sending her away at a young age and smuggled aboard a spice-freighter. The captain had discovered her and they dropped her off on a planet in the outer rim for her to fend for herself. Mortuff had given her a job as a mechanic, as well as a place to live. 

Nel shut her eyes tightly, to flush away the memory. She hated that planet more than anything but now that she sat in a cell on Fett's ship, she wished she hadn't been listening from the back room the day he had arrived. She shook her head, remembering the feeling of the medallion from down the street, pulling at the strings of her mind.

It had searched her out and found her.

The stars through the viewport focussed into pinpoints of light once more, as Boba Fett brought the ship out of lightspeed. He could see the charred debris of an Old Republic cruiser, its red hull floating in ragged chunks aimlessly.

The ship rocked violently and Fett grabbed the controls by instinct, veering the ship towards the blaster fire. He tilted the ship down and increased the thrust, wanting a look at his attacker as he methodically swayed the ship to minimize the damage.

Another shot rocked him in his seat and he caught sight of the freighter, nestled amongst the torn metal of the debris field. He squeezed the trigger, returning fire while still maintaining his series of maneuvers, though always keeping the attacking craft in his sight.

The design was unfamiliar to him main canons in front and one that faced the rear, but the ship's markings were obvious. It was a guild craft. 

The Slave I was smaller and could slink through the field more erratically, while the larger freighter had doomed itself by hiding within it. Fett brought ship up and over top of the other, dropping down to its broad side and out of range of the freighter's weapon systems. Debris floated between the two ships and the hunter waited for an opening.

Bossk smiled, watching his display console. He reached for the thruster control and powered up the engine, tapping another control a moment later.

Boba Fett caught sight of the freighter moving off and turned his ship to pursue. A sudden burst in space sent the Slave I careening, off to the left with alarms sounding in the cabin. Fett groaned when he realized he had been baited and struggled against the shock wave that sent the debris field into chaos. Shrapnel from the blast bounced off the Slave I's hull, knocking it away from the swarming chunks of durasteel and out into open space. 

Fett tried to regain control but with a quick scan of the computer's readouts, he noted that the targeting systems were damaged and the main thrusters were offline. He was dead in space.

Bossk howled, bringing the ship back around to where his prey had drifted. He slowed the ship down and opened a comlink to the incapacitated Slave I, the Crimson Star's thrusters on a slow burn. "What's matter Fett, your ship damaged?"

Fett ignored the taunt over his ship's speakers and shut down the internal systems, save for one. The inside of the Slave I quickly grew colder and Fett finally reopened the comlink. "What's the matter Bossk, your ship running too hot?" With a flip of a switch the missile port extended and launched a heat-seeking rocket into space. Even without the guidance systems active, the warhead would still seek out the warmest object in the vicinity.

The Trandoshan stormed down the corridor in a panicked frenzy as the other hunter's gathered behind him. Milit emerged from the cargo hold in a hurry, catching up to him. "What now?" Bossk snarled and pushed the human back, sending him toppling into the other three that had gathered behind him. "There's only room for one in the escape pod!"

Boba Fett saw as the missile impacted, tearing the freighter's engine apart and sending a cascade of smaller explosions, rippling through her frame. He shivered as he reached for the controls and brought what systems remained active back to life. 


	9. Chapter 8

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Chapter 8 

Nel Mysta's eyes opened and she sighed, feeling groggy. Her head hurt and she reached up, her hand coming away a moment later covered in blood. She was suddenly aware of the cold and started to shiver violently, her breath escaping in clouds of vapor into the dark room. She struggled to remember how she came to be there, but the memory eluded her.

Warning lights blinked across the board, the loud claxons silenced long before in the Slave I's tight cockpit. Boba Fett groaned, looking over the readouts, calculating what he could fix and what he would have to have replaced. Without hesitation he stood, reaching overhead for his toolkit and pulled it down, getting to work.

The sun hung over Coruscant, bathing the dense, planet-wide city in the warmth of daylight. Tani strode casually along a rooftop path, surrounded by agriculture that had been specially chosen by her employer. Lush greens and purples adorned the pristine garden along with elaborate rock formations and a small creek. 

She stepped over a small bridge, the water flowing beneath her and continued over to a small dais with a quiet figure in a state of meditation. _He loves the morning sunrise,_ she thought as she approached him, a datapad held tightly in her soft hands. With her soothing voice, she woke him from the intimacy of his thoughts. "My Lord, our contact has reported in. I regret the news is less than favorable."

His meditation broken he slowly opened his eyes, but remained in his seat, his legs crossed in a lotus position and smiled. "Good morning. What is this news you bring me? Can it darken the sky?"

Tani gave the datapad over and held her arms behind her back comfortably. "Boba Fett has yet to arrive at the rendezvous. There is news that he was attacked by members of the guild." She remained still as he stood, giving the datapad back to her, his good humor having faded. The purple of his robes shined brightly in the sun, in contrast to his growing demeanor.

"Tani," he said slowly, stroking her blonde hair with his slender, green fingers. "That medallion is instrumental if I'm to be in good favor with the Emperor and his general, Lord Vader. All of Falleen depends on this. Palpatine may not have voiced his discriminate ways as of yet, but his actions have written volumes."

He turned away from Tani and looked out over the megolithic city before them; then slowly turning to face her once more. "For the sake of my people… do not fail me." Tani bowed gently and walked away, her dress shimmering in the morning light.

Xisor watched her leave and turned back to his dais, intent on regaining his state of calm.

Bossk growled as he crawled out from the wrecked escape pod, clawing for the open air that greeted him and looked around. The landscape was desolate and rocky, with deep ravines and canyons that stretched as far as his reptilian eyes could see. He held a long, scaled forelimb up to shade himself from the sun and caught sight of civilization in the distance. _That pestilent diagona, _he thought as he quickly glanced upward. _I'll have my revenge!_

Boba Fett smiled beneath his helmet as the Slave I's core systems came back online. He had spent hours in the engine compartment alone, repairing what he could, in order to make way for the nearest port. There was still much that was needed to be done on the ship and Fett still had a job to complete.

He made his way to the cockpit and scanned the sector for a spaceport. The target settled on a small moon not far from where the ship sat and he looked out the transparisteel viewport in its general vicinity.

Gall.

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	10. Chapter 9

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Chapter 9

Boba Fett slowly checked the internal security grid and sighed in relief. Even in the midst of a system-wide cascade failure, the prisoner cages still remained locked. The last thing he wanted was to have Nel Mysta running around, free of the cage's force restricting properties. When he was sure that what he could fix was stable, he climbed out from the engine compartment and slowly crept over to the girl's small prison. He looked at her through the bars, obviously groggy from a head wound she had received.

Softly, the hunter tapped the bars with his spanner and she looked up at him abruptly, light shimmering over the dark patch in her hair. In a gruff voice he motioned to the blood in her hair. "How bad is it?"

Nel shook her head faintly, wincing slightly. "I'll live. What… happened, anyway?"

Fett knelt next to her, resting his arm on his knee. "The Trandoshan. We'll be making a side trip to Gall for some repairs." Fett turned his head, looking at the cage's locking mechanism, his mind carefully calculating how to proceed. Finally he looked back at Nel, her eyes sparkling. "I can't be in two places at once. You're good with machines. I'll let you out, on the condition you follow my instructions."

For a moment she sat, then finally nodded her compliance. The hunter stood and walked slowly to the cage door, his helmet never turning away from her. He entered the first few digits of the disarming code and paused. Nel smiled wryly. "I know you'll kill me if I try anything funny… and I didn't have to read your mind to know that." Fett nodded and unlocked the door, stepping back to allow her to exit.

Nel smiled, relieved to have been released and stood, suddenly dizzy from her injury and slumped against the bars. Fett turned away, watching her from the corner of his eye and grabbed the medi-pouch from an overhead compartment. He handed the small gray case to her, which she took weakly in one hand and sat down to open it. She removed a bacta-spray and treated the wound then rested back against the bars, looking up at the armored figure. "What do you want me to do?"

The Slave I trudged slowly through space, the engines running at forty percent. Fett concentrated on maneuvering the ship towards the small dusty moon, while Nel sat below at the passenger console, monitoring the ships systems carefully. Without the flight computer in working order, it was likely that the ship would overheat the engines on entry and stall far above Gall's rocky surface. Fett benefited from the added person, allowing him to pilot the ship, while she made sure it could still land.

The reddish-brown orb filled the viewport and the hunter swore softly in Huttese, knowing the impending doom he was sure to face. 

The ship shook violently as it pierced the upper atmosphere and the turbulence was enough to make Nel feel nauseous. She focused on the force, calming herself down and turned her attention back to the console. The Slave I had one power generator offline and two of the others were climbing into the red. She strained to even out the power flow and opened a coolant vent to slow the meltdown. The ship shook violently again and Nel cursed aloud, her soft voice barely audible over the roar of atmospheric entry.

For a seeming eternity the chaotic symphony grew in intensity, hammering the hull with thunderous waves, until a final lurch ended the cacophony… they made it.

Fett pulled hard on the controls, attempting to alter the angle of descent and bring the repulsor-fins online. Sweat beaded on his forehead, beneath his battered helmet and slowly the ship tilted backwards and began to slow. He maintained his careful control over his would-be tomb, as Nel worked feverishly to keep the engines running. 

One engine suddenly cut out and the ship picked up speed, careening for the cracked surface of Gall. The young woman fought the remaining generators' attempt to fail and managed to boost the power, once again slowing the Slave I's velocity. 

In the cockpit a burst came over the comm channel, as security inquired about the pilot's identity. Fett transmitted his authorization codes and requested a secure landing area in a maintenance hanger. After a few moments of silence the security chief responded and Fett was led to a port, just on the outskirts of Gall's main spaceport. When the ship finally touched down, Nel slumped back and breathed deeply to steady her nerves.

Tani disliked traveling, especially into the Outer Rim, far from the protection of Coruscant. She flew anonymously as she always did, as a passenger among many others on a transport heading to Gall. Tani looked around cautiously, peering from beneath her dusty, hooded cloak and observed those around her with scrutiny. _Pirates and thieves, _she thought, then closed her eyes to wait out the rest of the voyage.

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--Well after a while to think on how things could turn out for our hero, I've come up with what may be the rest of the story! Believe me, it's a BIG deal! I usually wing it, letting the story write itself, but in this case, well… you'll just have to read on to find out!

Thanks everyone for all the reviews! 

In case someone forgot… I don't own anything but the computer this was written on!

-Ryko


	11. Chapter 10

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Chapter 10

Boba Fett watched silently as a half a dozen worker droids, milled around the Slave I, integrating new pieces of hardware into her frame with erratic showers of glowing sparks. They had been at it for hours, replacing the scrapped power generators and patching the holes that marred the ship's surface.

The restoration had been pricey, the hunter's expenditure account running into the low hundreds and he scowled, knowing it would not have happened to his father. Jango Fett would never have been caught coming out of lightspeed. Fett shook his head lightly. He was not his father… his father was dead and Boba fett would become the greatest bounty collector in the galaxy. 

Fett strolled closer to the Slave I, walking amidst the roving droid mechanics and remarked how different the ship seemed, its blue and yellow color scheme now replaced to suit its owner. Dark, olive green and deep red now adorned the ship's hull and Boba fett at last felt a sense of independence from his father's shadow.

Nel strode up along side the hunter, glaring at the ship through a set of UV goggles. "Wow… it looks so… new!" Fett turned his head slightly, looking at her through the corner of his eye. Suddenly she felt embarrassed and stepped back, trying to evade the expressionless glare of the Mandalorian helmet.

Tani marched toward a local hotel, looking around at the native people. Intermixed with the rough populace were the unmistakable Imperial stormtroopers, undoubtedly maintaining the resemblance of peace. She strolled through the hotel doors and checked into her room, setting her bag on the small cot. The room itself was dusty and rust colored, much like the rest of the planet, and sparsely decorated with crude, welded pieces of art. She walked over to the small window and looked out over the city, built into the side of a canyon. _Where are you?_

Bossk sat at a table in the darkly lit Club Armageddon, sipping a synthahol drink that he clutched with one massive forelimb. Loud, thunderous music pounded from the speakers, while patrons of a variety of different species danced harmoniously.

He drank to subdue the pain from the impact and ogled a Trandoshan female across the bar, working as a waitress in the seedy establishment. Bossk turned his attention to the timepiece he carried and scowled, only half believing he had spent four hours in the company of substances.

The hunter stood and swayed slightly, the synthahol taking effect. After a moment he steadied himself and flashed a reptilian grin to the waitress before exiting into daylight.

Boba Fett ran a systems check inside the Slave I's cockpit, Nel hanging over his shoulder and turned to regard her. "The moment those droids finish with the engines, we're taking off and you will give me the coordinates."

Nel nodded, looking out the viewport at the droids below. Fett caught her attention once more and spoke -- his voice seeming less threatening with every sentence, though still lacking the inflection of emotion. "I still need a hyperdrive motivator and you are coming with me." Before she could even respond, he was making his way to the airlock.

Bossk growled as he made his way down the street, heading to the meager hotel he was staying at and cursing the sun's brightness. He shoved past a couple of insectoid Gans and paused, rubbing his bloodshot eyes with a scaly limb. After a moment he grinned. _Boba Fett_.

Fett waved his hand and the labor-droid scurried off, carting the newly acquired motivator back to the Slave I. Nel smiled and looked up to the sky through her goggles. "I guess we'll be leaving soon, right?"

Fett didn't bother to look at her. "Right." He said flatly.

A sudden form knocked the girl away and barreled into the armor-clad hunter, sending him toppling into a heap of scrap metal. At the sight of the Trandoshan, Fett moved to get to his feet and winced at a searing pain in his arm. He looked over quickly and saw the blood, running down from where a jagged piece of metal protruded through the meat of his left arm.

Bossk laughed, a sound more akin to a gurgle. "Well, well, well… what have we here?"

Fett caught sight of her first and Bossk spun quickly, taking a blow to the side of the head with a discarded power cell. He reeled from the impact and landed hard in the street, dust kicking up around his immense frame. Nel knelt next to the armored hunter and smiled wryly, helping to extract him from the grip of the metal barb. "It doesn't look bad… "

Her words were cut off, her eyes going suddenly vacant. Slowly her body relaxed and she fell, rolling to the right, blood pooling on her abdomen. Bossk chuckled, his claw removed from the gaping wound beside the girl's spine.

Fett stood quickly to meet the attacker, his left arm dangling uselessly. He reached for where his blaster sat, in the holster on his side and he sighed. It was missing.

Bossk crawled to his feet and glared at the other hunter. "What to do now?"

Fett grinned beneath his helmet, staring into the Trandoshan's eyes. "Indeed."

Bossk lunged, tackling Fett and taking him down in a powerful impact. The other hunter relaxed his slender body and rolled, ignoring the shooting pain in his arm flexed his wrist, activating his gauntlet's gripping blades, which sprang out of the side in a jagged edge. With a powerful thrust, Boba Fett raked the blades across Bossk's side and the reptilian hunter roared in pain. His body went limp and he fell backwards, hitting the ground with a thud, Fett standing over the bleeding form.

Fett turned his attention to Nel, lying motionless in the sun, blue-black blood pooling around her. He lowered himself next to her and lowered his head, then raised it to once again look into her eyes.

The eyes seemed so lifeless now and he felt something that had no been with him for a long time, not since he watched his father die. Fett took a deep breath and suddenly the feeling disappeared. He reached out and took two of the girl's braids in his gloved hand, straining against the pain to grasp them and brought his other arm over, shearing the hair an inch from her scalp with the extended gripping blades.

Slowly he stood, clutching the dusty, blonde locks and walked away, intent on leaving the planet behind. 

__

Please don't groan or moan…. I needed tragedy! Thank you Starnight for being, at this point, my only reader…. And enjoy!

-Ryko


	12. Chapter 11

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Chapter 11

Fett rounded a bend, heading for his docked ship, his brown cape draped over his injured left arm. He had already been back to his ship to dress the wound already and had left to acquire a flight-pass to leave orbit. When he reached the Slave I's docking platform he paused, noting the woman that stood there to greet him. Slowly Fett approached, recognizing her.

Tani smiled faintly, the remaining sunlight of the evening glaring off her eyes. "Hunter Fett, it is good to see you once again… and successful?"

Fett nodded, slowly delving into his belt pouch to remove the artifact with his right hand. He held it up for his employer to inspect and she nodded her compliance. Her gaze drifted across his armor, from his arm hidden beneath the dusty drape; to the long braids that hung from his right shoulder. "As was agreed, " she began, handing a datapad to the hunter. "Sixty-thousand credits transferred to your account upon delivery."

Boba Fett scanned the readout quickly, entering his authorization codes for the transaction and handed the pad and the medallion to Tani. For a moment she stared at it, allowing the fading light to be refracted around her. Without any show of emotion she looked back up to the hunter. "It is quite remarkable."

Fett strode past her and boarded his ship, not ever bothering to look back. Once inside he began pre-launch, the Slave I's systems roaring back to life. It didn't take long for it to take off and once the ship had cleared the planet, Boba Fett sighed and climbed back below deck. Systematically he removed his armor and set his helmet gently on its shelf. He had programmed the ship for a jump to lightspeed and once he felt the rumble of the hyperdrive kick in, he crawled into his bunk and shut his eyes.

There was a chill in the air as the rocky moon of Gall entered nightfall, the sun having fully disappeared from sight and Bossk's eyes opened in a flash. Hung over and sore, he struggled to his feet and carefully inspected the wound on his side. "Hah!" He barked to no one in particular, tearing off a shred of his flight-suit to clot the injury. "That worm didn't even break two layers!"

Slowly at first he made his way to his hotel and barged through the door to his room. He slumped onto the thin mattress and exhaled in relief. Finally he could rest and allow his Trandoshan healing abilities to repair the damage that Fett had caused to his mid-section. As unconsciousness began to take its hold, the image of the Mandalorian helmet crept into his mind and filled Bossk with an unquenchable desire for revenge. _When I get off this dust hole, I'm coming for you._

Xisor sprawled luxuriously over the surface of his bed; draped in the delicate fabrics that he was accustomed. A soft chime pulled him from his dreams and he woke, sitting up in his dark sanctum and removed the silken covers. Slowly he rose to his feet, wearing only loose-fitting pants and moved gracefully for his chamber door.

Tani greeted him as the barrier slid away and he smiled, suddenly full of vigor. "Ah, my dear… at last you have returned from your arduous journey." Xisor stepped to the side and bade his welcomed assistant to enter. She carried a small, black case and walked over to a table and set it down. Xisor smiled as he ignited the fireplace, casting an amber glow across his bare chest and moved to rejoin her.

Tani opened the case and revealed the Sith relic within, never taking her eyes away from his. "You wanted me to notify you at once that it had been retrieved." Xisor reached for the medallion and lifted it gently, admiring the delicate carvings and the shine that refracted from it. 

With a sigh he placed it back into the case. "In the morning I shall present it to Emperor Palpatine. Be sure to have my formal attire prepared." Tani nodded her acknowledgement and spoke up once again. "Will that be all?"

Xisor smiled. "Welcome home. You may power down now if it so pleases you."

--Well, that's it for this tale… but I'm certain I can come up with something new for our favored hunter! As for that, keep checking up on me… cause you never know!

--Ryko

PS Thanks Starnight for your support and don't think you've seen the last of me!


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